What to Check When You Visit a Loved One in a Nursing Home

There is a lot of stress placed on a family when making the decision to place a loved one in a nursing home. With this stress comes the fear of nursing home abuse.

Nursing home abuse can happen because of many different circumstances. In some cases, it occurs because the home did not employ enough people to do the amount of work necessary to keep every patient healthy. In other cases, the home, unfortunately, places trust in employees who neglect to care for the patient. Regardless of the cause, the results can be disastrous.

Nursing home abuse is a devastating idea, but unfortunately it is very real. Many families do not know it is occurring until it is too late. When you visit your loved one, be sure to check for the following signs to make sure he or she is receiving quality care.

Bedsores

A woman in New Jersey recently passed away because of a bedsore that was ignored. The lady was placed in assisted living after an incident that caused her to break her hip. She was bedridden in the nursing home for over a hundred days. When her family finally brought her home, they noticed a huge bedsore that the nursing home either ignored or never noticed in the first place. The family rushed her to the hospital, but unfortunately it was too late. The sore had developed into an ulcer, and, because it was never treated, it turned into sepsis. The lady passed away in the care of hospice not too long after, all because a bed sore was ignored.

Bedsores are a huge risk. While many nursing homes establish protocols for patients who are mostly bedridden so that this does not happen, you should check for yourself when you visit. Ask your loved one’s nursing home what procedures they follow to prevent bedsores from developing.

Medicine

Many nursing homes will have some type of white board or diary in order to mark when a patient received each drug. Though the staff is supposed to be experts on the subject, it is important that you educate yourself on the subject as well. Know what medicines your loved one is taking, and check on the schedule to make sure that he is receiving everything when he should and in the adequate amount.

Many times the patients’ minds are not sharp enough to catch errors in medicine. If a wrong pattern of medicine forms, the side effects can be disastrous. Therefore, you should be well educated on the medicines your loved one is taking, and if a change has been made in your loved one’s prescriptions, the nursing home should inform you of it and explain why the change was made.

Motor Skills

A common change seen in patients in nursing homes is a loss of motor skills. Nursing homes have a responsibility to the patients to help them exercise their motor skills. Many times this occurs through both physical therapy and general interaction. Be sure to take note of your loved one’s motor skills when you visit. If you see a rapid decline in this, you should express your concern. Be sure to ask what the home has been doing to ensure your loved one remains active, and make sure that this important aspect of care is not being overlooked.

Help from an Indiana Nursing Home Abuse Lawyer

It is scary to give control of your loved one’s well-being over to an institution. It’s even scarier to go into it without knowing what to look for. If you notice that any part of your loved one’s care is not being considered and is leading to a decline in their health, you could be entitled to compensation. Call Hensley Legal Group today for a free consultation or contact us online.

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